Sunday night/Monday morning saw a brand marketers rush to leverage England’s win in the UEFA Euro 2022 as, after 56 years of hurt, the Lionesses finally brought football home in front of 87,000 at Wembley, 5.9m BBC live streams and 17.4m broadcast viewers.
Companies of all types – from official sponsors and sportswear suppliers to ambush opportunists and national institutions – tumbled over one another to leverage the moment after England beat Germany 2:1 in the Final with low-latency congratulatory creative rolling out across social, OOH and projection work.
Official tournament sponsors, such as Pepsi Max (using an iconic English landmark) and Walkers (referencing a classic England football refrain) and England sponsor Dettol, all marked the moment by linking their brands to the win through the ‘Football’s Come Home’ refrain.
It’s home.
Congratulations @lionesses
Dettol Up, Support England.
#Lionesses #England #EnglandWomen pic.twitter.com/XyjR9eHsjy— Dettol UK (@Dettol_UK) July 31, 2022
As did the winning team’s kit supplier Nike with its simple newspaper cover wrap.
Well done Nike pic.twitter.com/q7Md677hQ2
— Dan Calladine (@dancall) August 1, 2022
England sponsor EE celebrated by reusing a famous England football quote from a previous era, while long-time women’s football supporter Barclays marked the occasion by looking to the future.
The final whistle goes. The crowd goes wild. England have only gone and done it! #HopeUnited pic.twitter.com/gMvL9hvNBW
— EE (@EE) July 31, 2022
Congratulations Lionesses, #WEURO2022 Champions! You’ve inspired the nation
But there’s more to be done. As @ianwright0 says, ‘girls should be able to play.’ That's why since 2018 we've been committed to giving girls in England equal access to football in schools by 2024. pic.twitter.com/gF2H700AI8
— Barclays Football (@BarclaysFooty) July 31, 2022
Amongst the notable tactical responses from other England Football sponsors, Budweiser took a classic British celebratory approach and bought a huge round of beers for 150,000 via a digital coupon tie-up with Tesco, while Lucozade Sport focused on social list-building with a signed Lionesses shirt contest and Weetabix applied its own classic commercial tagline to a simple social post and also used the old school sponsor ‘proud’ cliche to to mark the achievement.
OUR @Lionesses HAVE DONE IT!
Celebrate with a Bud on us
UK, 18+ only. Coupon can be redeemed from 31/07/2022 to 07/08/2022 available from selected Tesco stores. Maximum of 150,000 digital coupons available to redeem. For full T&Cs, visit https://t.co/J0Cxf7gZSI pic.twitter.com/hoxVwBYH9S
— Budweiser UK (@BudweiserUK) July 31, 2022
WIN A PIECE OF HISTORY
To celebrate England's historic win, we're giving away another signed @lionesses shirt.
To Win:
1️⃣ Follow us @lucozadesport
2️⃣ RT this postT&C's: https://t.co/17Xd7fNOnR pic.twitter.com/gHkIlNoSit
— Lucozade Sport (@LucozadeSport) August 1, 2022
We knew they would. ⚽️ #HaveYouHadYourWeetabix pic.twitter.com/3JSlLybs3T
— Weetabix (@weetabix) July 31, 2022
POV: It came home @Lionesses #TheyHadTheirs pic.twitter.com/1x52wsO5Pl
— Weetabix (@weetabix) August 1, 2022
National institutions, like the Royal Mail and the BBC, were also keen to share the nation’s joy – the former referencing the country’s anthem-originated football cliche and the latter projected a message of celebration on the National Football Museum in Manchester.
Well done @Lionesses! #ItsComingHome #Home pic.twitter.com/R386wCnzZQ
— Royal Mail (@RoyalMail) July 31, 2022
While Ocean Outdoor’s iconic Piccadilly Lights in London’s famous Piccadilly Circus also offered its own salute to the Lionesses.
Congratulations @Lionesses for bringing it home – @PicLights and the whole of the country salute you!#WEURO2022 #ItsComingHome @LandsecGroup pic.twitter.com/jDtSoORshd
— Ocean Outdoor (@OceanOutdoorUK) August 1, 2022
Plus, brands with a track record of football ambush ads, such as Specsavers, reworked previous content to celebrate the side’s success.
56 years of hurt over. Amazing sight.#Lionesses #WEURO2022 #ItsComingHome pic.twitter.com/dd4u6ItzuH
— Specsavers (@Specsavers) July 31, 2022
Even companies like train outfit GWR, currently at the centre of a public furore around pay disputes and strikes, offered an antidote to recent public frustration by linking themselves to the happy moment.
Our magnificent #Lionesses with pride of place on our Intercity Express Train 800316 #WEURO2022 #Itscominghome pic.twitter.com/jOUtLaoLwQ
— GWR (@GWRHelp) August 1, 2022
While supermarket giant Sainsbury’s offered a more subtle billboard approach linking products to the team’s adopted song.
Well played @sainsburys #Lionesses pic.twitter.com/VBPh7N3f1P
— Andrew Bloch (@AndrewBloch) July 30, 2022
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